Of Gifts and Striking up a Relationship With a Mistletoe
by The sleepless ghostly being
Summary: College setting. Yamamoto was more than content with his current place as Tsuna's best friend despite the heartache and butterflies in his stomach - until Christmas happened. Or rather, Tsuna's borderline confession happened in the name of Christmas. If a mistletoe can be counted as one. 8027.


**Merry Christmas yay!**

 **Apparently I'm still in this fandom after all these years. Dammit that special elDLIVE x KHR anime episode, making me fall in love with this all over again. And 8027.**

 **I made it in time, woo hoo! Apparently people don't write Christmas one-shot for their ships here anymore? The only Christmas one-shots I've seen as of the time of posting are only two 1827 one-shots. Oh well, I'm happy at least that this year's Christmas there's going to be one innocent 8027 lying in the corner. UwU**

 **Enough with my banter though, enjoy reading!**

* * *

"Tsuna, are you sure reading _that_ now? -" Yamamoto's eyes slowly trailed up the gigantic pile of books by the brunet's side as he asked for the umpteenth time. "- will help? I...don't think you'll remember anything in the morning..." A single sympathetic chuckle escaped him.

"Stop! Yamamoto, stop stop! Ahhh how did I forget about this test again - and stop smiling! Reborn is going to kill me for this!" Yamamoto merely laughed. Of course in the midst of the holiday cheer, chaotic people and even more crazy schemes, Tsuna is bound to forget about his re-test so near to Christmas. Apparently it's Sunday tomorrow - actually it's Sunday now, seeing it's after midnight currently - so the teacher wanted to retest Tsuna early in the morning in order to let both of them be free of matters in the evening, where they can enjoy Christmas with their respective families.

Unbeknownst to the erratic brunet with disheveled hair and flannel pajamas struggling to cram everything about world economy into his head in the ungodly hours of the night, Yamamoto did not stop smiling. However this time, his smile was one full of endearment, not pity.

Ah yes, Tsuna could never fail to make the former school idol's heart skipped a beat. Even now that they're studying university, living in the same dorm, seeing each other everyday - he would still gets butterflies at every little Tsuna-esque things. Like now, his messy, unruly chestnut hair glimmered under the dim lamp light dutifully like always, his brows furrowed adorably, hell, even the way he gripped his pencil, it was delicate and simply captivating.

Suffice to say, he's a goner.

Peeking from behind Tsuna's shoulder from his position on his bed proved to be challenging, but he was awarded by one of those Tsuna's exasperated smiles nonetheless.

"Y-you should sleep Yamamoto." The brunet blushed at the close proximity. "You look tired." It's times like these Yamamoto likes to think that Tsuna might have "hidden feelings" for him, despite how absurd that might sound. A person can at least dream, right? Not to mention, someone like Tsuna is way out of his league anyway. "Nope, I'm not sleepy at all." He flashed his killer grin at Tsuna, hoping to see maybe another blush or two. "I'd rather watch you study." _You're cute!_ Is the unspoken ending to the sentence. Tsuna immediately turned red and sputtered incoherently at the aspect of being thoroughly observed.

Sitting back on his bed, he laughed lightheartedly at Tsuna's reaction. Said man was busy glaring at the baseball jock now that he settled down. "I'm not going to get anything done at this rate if you keep teasing me like this." Yamamoto grinned cheekily in return. "You're welcome." Not that he's stopping soon.

And so he stayed up, eyes hardly leaving Tsuna - eyes that unknowingly twinkled with fondness and warmth for the person in front of him. Yamamoto comfortably snuggled into his blanket, noticing for the first time a fine shower of snow outside of their room's window. It's finally Christmas Eve, tomorrow the kid and gang is going to host a big annual 'Vongola' Christmas party, undoubtedly not leaving him nor Tsuna alone until the next morning. He heaved a small resigned sigh, guess this Christmas is going to be the same as last year.

His eyes lazily drifted to Tsuna again, his small shoulders hunched in the midst of towers of books. How would it feel to let that mop of soft chestnut hair drape across his shoulders if he were to hug Tsuna? Would Tsuna's small arms gently hold on to him? Would they whisper sweet nothings into each other's ears? Would Tsuna disappeared into his arms if he were to hug Tsuna tight enough? Would Tsuna lean in closer, and pull him down - Yamamoto quickly jump up from where he was, blushing and shaking his head, getting rid of any thoughts in his head whatsoever. Now that was too far, Tsuna would be disgusted if he knew he was fantasizing them getting together!

Unfortunately, his movement startled Tsuna a _little_ too much. "Ack! Ow ow ow…" Tsuna winced, having been jolted out of his mid-enlightenment phase, his head collided right into the table lamp. Yamamoto eyes widened with surprise as he rushed to Tsuna. "Tsuna! Are you okay?" He apologetically fumbled across Tsuna's scalp, heaving a relieved sigh when a swollen bump is all he found.

"I'm fine. But Yamamoto, are you okay?" Tsuna eyes glistened with concern. Yamamoto could only make a confused noise before Tsuna continued. "I-I don't know, but you've been spacing out and...you seemed sad?" His eyes widened, inwardly he was startled at how transparent he was to Tsuna, even when Tsuna's attention was elsewhere. "Now now, you must've been thinking too much. How about I got us both some green tea?" He changed the subject unconsciously, much to his chagrin. "And an ice pack for you, Tsuna, you banged your head pretty hard!" A laugh sounding too strained, even to him, escaped him. He just hoped Tsuna won't mention his weird behavior again.

Tsuna only gave Yamamoto an exasperated smile. "Thank you." He grinned. "Don't mention it!" Seems like even Tsuna was exasperated with his smooth conversation-changing skills, he half amusedly half self-deprecatingly noted, leaving to get said tea and ice pack he promised.

It was when he was behind the partition separating the kitchen corner did he thought about what Tsuna had said. He admitted he had been spacing out while watching Tsuna did his thing, but what Tsuna said about him being sad...how come Tsuna was able to sense that?

Contemplating, Yamamoto left to get the ice pack while letting the tea brew. Childishly speaking, he was somewhat down because he realized that this Christmas is probably going to end up the same way as any other Christmas preceding this was. With him futilely chasing what fantasy he dreamed of on Christmas Eve, but in between a hectic Christmas and a whirlwind of emotions, nothing ever happened - He never acted. Perhaps it was his cowardice, perhaps it was his fate, but his feelings for the amazing brunet never waver, but nothing ever changed between them either. However...if he had monopolized Tsuna to himself, that would be really selfish, wouldn't it? He was Tsuna's guardian, one of Tsuna's guardians, what gives that he could hoard Tsuna to himself?

He was just incredibly tired of this repetitive distance, he was so, so tired. That's all.

All he ever wanted is to hug the brunet close.

The teapot wheezed out a thin sliver of vapor, signalling the tea is ready. He got rid of any unnecessary thoughts whatsoever as he put the kettle on a tray. There's no need to burden Tsuna with his emotional dilemma in the midst the merry Christmas cheer. A familiar ache resounded in his heart - an ache that always softly reminded him of the reason he had always tried so hard and cared so much for the brunet.

With a 'Hmph', he carried the tray to his and Tsuna's sleeping area. Yamamoto set the tray down next to Tsuna who was sitting on his bed, before he gently dabbed the ice on the area of concussion. Tsuna laughed shyly, as if he was pretending they didn't had their previous conversation at all. "I can do it myself, don't worry." Tsuna insisted, trying to pry the ice pack out from his hand. He just shook his head, smiling. "I want to, Tsuna. I mean, I'm the one responsible for this bump after all." Yamamoto guessed Tsuna must've seen how uncomfortable he had been when the brunet asked him about his feelings, so now he's being apologetic and he dropped the conversation entirely. Tsuna just sighed, giving up trying to get the ice pack.

Yamamoto had to admit that having Tsuna sat so still, so near to him, was enough to get him butterflies in his stomach all over again.

In the meanwhile, Tsuna poured tea for both of them quietly, seemingly deep in thought. "Yamamoto," Tsuna finally began, looking anywhere but him out of anxiousness - at least, that's what he suspected. "Tomorrow, we're going to have the Christmas party and I guess we're going to be busy for the whole day…" Tsuna trailed of uncertainly, he wondered briefly what Tsuna was trying to say. "A-and I guess what I-I'm trying to say is..."

Something was thrusted into his face. Yamamoto blinked in surprise. "This is… -"

" _MerryChristmasYamamoto!_ " With that, Tsuna sped away, into the bathroom, and he locked the door! Yamamoto blinked once, twice, before looking down confusedly at the small blue box in his hands. He felt a small smile gradually graced his lips the more he looked at it.

Not that he was any less confused however, for there's really no reason to get so anxious

over a gift, right? Last year, Tsuna seemed indifferent from his normal self when he gave

Yamamoto a gift(a Kojiro plushie that Yamamoto cherishes with his dying will), so it's -

in a way - alarming to an extent.

Gently, Yamamoto opened the lid. Inside the box was a fluffy striped orange and blue scarf. A smile broke out on his face and he tried it on. Not only was the scarf comfortably warm, but the colour combination isn't as jarring as he thought, not to mention it actually looked wonderful on him. Is Tsuna worried would he liked the gift? Because this is perfect, there's really no reason for him to be so angry over a gift that should recite such a strong reaction from tsuna. He even found himself liking the colors of the scarf more the more he wore it. Blue is his favorite color, while orange reminds him of Tsuna a lot. A small absentminded happy blush crept up his face when he realized the colors could potentially represent him and Tsuna.

In the midst of moving the scarf around to fit his neck, he had knocked over the present box.

Scratching his head meekly, he went down on his knees to pick the box up, until his eyes noticed something lying beside the box. It was a _mistletoe_.

It was a mistletoe. A handful tiny shrub of mistletoe.

Tsuna had given him, not only the scarf, but also the mistletoe.

Yamamoto could literally felt his heart hammering against his ribcage exhilaratingly, along with the same feelings of butterflies in his stomach like before, except this time, the butterflies intensified tenfold. What was Tsuna implying? What is Tsuna trying to say? First the scarf with color choices trying to hint at something, now a mistletoe. His mind went wild into a hundred and eight questionable territories, he knew all of this was leading up to one thing, one conclusion. But he was scared. What if all of this was him reading too deep into it? What if Tsuna just added the mistletoe in just because he thought it was a nice small gift? What if Tsuna - what if Tsuna

became disgusted at him for thinking so? What if - what if he was rejected? What if Tsuna left him?

The thought of his life without Tsuna is simply too overwhelming, too terrifying, too heart wrenching for him to even fathom. He was fine living like this, being Tsuna's best friend, trying and pretending to be ignorant as best as he could about all these feelings. Why should he risked his place he'd grown complacent with for something that is bound to go wrong in every way possible?

Normally he prided himself as the one who always remained calm in any situation - the rain that washes away any troubling feelings - but good god when it was the time that he really needed to be calm, he couldn't. And this is him, that person who was as carefree as one could get. Just imagine if this was Tsuna every time his guardians and friends get out of hand. If Tsuna felt this much unrest every time his guardians were about to fight, then Yamamoto will now swear by his own grave that he'd do anything to dilute this feeling, because the emotional turmoil one

ought to go through shouldn't be this horrible.

Thinking about Tsuna brought him back to the present. Wait, hadn't Tsuna been hiding in the bathroom this whole time? Out of concern, Yamamoto immediately walk towards the bathroom, still wearing the scarf and having the mistletoe in hand. "Tsuna?" He knocked, worried if the brunet had slipped or something. "Are you still there?"

A whimper was all he got for an answer. Fear flooded his mind. _Tsuna?_ "Tsuna?"

"I-I..." From the other side of the door, he could hear the sound of Tsuna sliding to the floor, leaning on the door from his side. "Y-you probably hate me now, d-don't you?"

"Wha-?"

"But I-I can't go on like this..." Tsuna's voice was shaky, making his confusion and worry even worse. "I-I.." Yamamoto could hear a sharp intake of breath. "..I-I didn't - b-bu-but when I s-saw your face, your sad face...I-I couldn't - it was like y-you were expecting something -"

Yamamoto was on the verge of figuring what Tsuna was trying to say out. He couldn't believe himself. He could be very wrong and everything could go downhill from here...but if what he thought Tsuna was trying to say is true, then…

He breathed in, mustering up as much courage and resolve as he could. He crouched down, where he was supposed to be sitting facing Tsuna on the same line of sight. "Tsuna." On the other side of the door, he could hear the sound of Tsuna jumping, startled, but the brunet didn't answer. "Tsuna." He tried again, knocking the door softly.

"Yamamoto..." Tsuna trailed off. Seems like that's the only reply he's going to get. Welp, that's

good enough.

"Tsuna..." Here it goes. "...I feel the same, too."

Silence reigned over them both. Yamamoto could feel the anticipation creeping up his spine. The only sound he could hear was his own heartbeat, loud and clear in the silence between them. Maybe minutes or hour passed between them, before he opened his mouth again.

"Tsuna...open the door please?"

After a moment, there was a sound of shuffling and the sound of the door being unlocked. Yamamoto grabbed the doorknob and twisted it gently, his heart was beating so much almost as it was trying to get out of his chest - nervousness and expectation evident on his face.

Behind the white door was Tsuna, sitting on the tile floor, his flustered red face was also expectant. He was holding his legs close to him, looking utterly adorable and fragile at the same time. A small, warm smile automatically lit up on Yamamoto's face as he instinctively gather Tsuna in his arms. The feelings of the brunet in his arms was pure bliss, warmth gradually spread in his chest and _finally_ , after such a long time, _finally_ Tsuna was here, in his arms. It filled him with great elation - it was like falling in love all over again. Tsuna's chestnut locks smells of cinnamon and home, and his form went limp as his arm tentatively encircled around Yamamoto's neck, pulling him close.

Yamamoto laid his head on top of Tsuna's, his cheek comfortably nestled in Tsuna's hair. The words he longed to tell Tsuna spewed itself out of his mouth without a pause. "I love you, Tsuna. For as long as I could remember, I had always loved you." He smiled into Tsuna's hair, a small blush making its appearance known again. "I'm really glad Tsuna feel the same, though," He could felt a small flinch from Tsuna. "I wonder what made you confessed?"

As fast as the question left his mouth, Tsuna pushed away from him, just enough to look at him in the eye. And oh boy, Tsuna's face was just bright, vivid red - Yamamoto partly felt like bursting out laughing, and partly worried would the brunet faint from all the blood on his face. "I-I-I -"

"Calm down, Tsuna, you'd faint from all this blushing!" Seemed like mentioning the blush made

it worse to the poor brunet, but at least he did tried to breathe deeply to calm his nerves.

"I...actually tried to confess several times." Yamamoto was immediately greeted by a surprise - how come he hadn't noticed any attempts at all? If Tsuna had tried to confess in his dying will mode like how he did with Sasagawa, then surely he would notice it? Seeing Yamamoto's confused face, Tsuna quickly added. "Ahh, M-my methods isn't that obnoxious...And every attempt before that with Kyoko-chan was Reborn's doing..."

Hearing the revelation, Yamamoto laughed. "Haha! Now that make so much sense! No wonder why after every confession you looked so upset." Tsuna only laughed along, before continuing his explanation.

"And every time, either something would happened, stopping me, or I chickened out." An embarrassed laugh left Tsuna. "For the past two Christmas, I have been trying to confess -" Yamamoto's eyes widened. Two years? "- but I always chickened out at the last minute. I almost did this time too, but when I saw how sad your eyes were I..." Tsuna paused, letting it sink in, his eyes looking everywhere but Yamamoto. "I felt as if you were expecting something, and I failed you..."

His mind went back to when he was unconsciously moping around, and he made a little note in the back of his head to stop lowkey moping around after this. Even if the results of said moping around was him getting together with the crush of his life.

"It wasn't until Reborn and Gokudera-kun can't stand how pathetic I was being, that they told me that...you loved me. But you don't want to burden me with your feelings, so you kept quiet." Tsuna's grip on him tightened. "Honestly Yamamoto...you could do so much better than me, but here you are. You -" Tsuna's voice was quieter and it shook, though out of what emotion, he couldn't decide. "- You choose me." And with the warmest smile he'd got, Tsuna smiled.

It was time like this that Yamamoto realized, this smile was for him. This is the kind of smile Tsuna had reserved for him only. A smile this warm was exclusive to him only.

It felt as if he had forget to breathe.

Yamamoto's hand brushed away Tsuna's bang affectionately, before he found himself gently caressing Tsuna's face. "No, Tsuna." With the most warmest voice he could muster, he replied. "You choose me." With that, he bought his forehead to Tsuna's, smiling happily. "It's you who gave me a chance to love you. Thank you."

As soon as their foreheads touched, Tsuna's blush exploded into ten different shades of red. While he seemed as he wanted to protest what Yamamoto had said earlier, he settled with just blushing even more instead. Or at least, that's what Yamamoto thought.

Slowly, both of them subconsciously inched forward, and before both knew it, the space between their lips was gone. Tsuna's lips was so, _so_ soft. Both him and Tsuna flinched a small bit at their unexpected kiss, however none of them pulled away. And so he gingerly moved his lips against Tsuna's. Although this was his - and also Tsuna's - first kiss, his instincts was flaring up and before long he found himself knowing what to do and not being a clueless idiot for once. Surprisingly, Tsuna was quick to follow his lead and soon enough, the kiss was far from sloppy - it was euphoric.

Too quickly did they pulled apart, the need of air becoming more and more unbearable by the second. Panting heavily, Yamamoto let his arm drop...Wait, his arm dropped? Confusedly, he glanced down at his arm. It was then did he realized it was the same arm his hand had been holding the mistletoe before. He had unknowingly hold the mistletoe above them while they kissed. A blush broke out on his face.

Tsuna appeared to had the same thought as his own blush just worsen madly. "That was the mistletoe I gave you...And you're wearing the scarf Yamamoto…" is it possible for one's blush to get even worse? The poor brunet's face had been tomato-red for the past ten minutes or so now.

Yamamoto just laughed bashfully seeing Tsuna's reaction. "Yeah, my hand is just one step ahead of my brain, I think. And I really like the scarf too!" This reminded him - he hadn't get anything for Tsuna yet. So he did the most logical thing he could came up at the time; he pecked Tsuna on the lips. The happiness overload must've gone to his brain, but he was far from worrying about that. "Here's my Christmas gift for you, Tsuna! Obviously it's a placeholder, but -" He wasn't given a chance to finish his sentence, for Tsuna had enveloped him into another hug again.

Cozily nuzzling the crook of his newfound lover, Tsuna smiled. "You're the best Christmas gift I've ever received. Merry Christmas, Yamamoto."

Yamamoto merrily returned the hug, leaning back on the bathroom's door frame, he smiled in contentment. "Likewise, Tsuna. Merry Christmas."

* * *

 **Please do tell me if you'd like an omake, I've got one planned. Also, reviews are appreciated. c:**


End file.
